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Hello all, this is my first post around here. Ive been lurking for the last week or so and have been amazed by the quality of work that people are producing and also by the community spirit here. Ive been interested in woodwork for a while and have recently started making my own tools, here are a few examples, questions to follow! This is the first tool that I made, the blade is very simple and ground on both sides. I also love what happens to cherry when you finish it, this is sanded to 600 and treated with danish oil. This is my second attempt. I made the handle and lid from one piece of wood so that the grain matches up. I also used some leather to help hide the epoxy that I mounted the blade with. I ground this one like a chisel with just one bevel. This is my first tool with a specific job in mind. I have been doing inlay work recently and find it hard to clean out the recesses into which the inlay will fit. This tool cuts flat while the handle stands proud of your work. Thanks for taking the time to look at these! If you want any more photos or info check my blog. My current metal work set up is *very* buget! I am using O1 steel which im heating with a propane/butane mix torch. I have zero control over the temperature, im quenching when the whole blade is glowing a bright red/yellow color and im quenching with vegetable oil at ambient temperature. Im tempering at gas mark 2 (not going to pretend I know how hot my oven is, but hopefully 100-200C. From what I understand O1 steel needs to be soaked above the critical temperature for ~30mins to harden properly. How much performance am I losing from my steel by not soaking, and are there any steels that dont need to soak at critical temperature? Whats wrong with vegetable oil? Is it OK to use O1 for chisels with a thinner shaft, im worried that hardening up the shaft could make the tool more brittle and ideally I'd just harden the first few mm. Thanks to anyone that can help!

Forgive the crude drawing, but a friend had an idea. Because oil and water separate, would it be possible to quench through the oil into the water very quickly then pull the blade back into the oil and out. My friend had fairly decent success going quickly into a bucket of water and then into a tank of oil. I realize that it would probably depend on the steel, but what do you think this process could potentially do for a blade. I am fairly new to bladesmithing and only just completed my first pattern welded piece. I would imagine that the forces of both mediums would create different forces on the steel. would it increase/ decrease warping? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Hi everyone I am new to bladesmithing and I would like a little feedback on a few of my knives. These are not the only knives I've made but they are the 3 I'm proud enough to show. All 3 are made from old leaf springs which I believe is 5160. I've made a leather sheath for two of them and I would appreciate feedback on those as well. Thank you for any comments or criticisms you leave, they are greatly appreciated. The thistle maker's mark on the third knife is my grandfather's maker's mark. He is an outstanding bladesmith but his motor skills have greatly declined lately. He can no longer smith and I want his knowledge of the craft and his mark to live on in my work.

Hello, I did not notice an introduction thread for new members so please move this if it is bothersome. My name is Karl Myers. I am a 25 year-old father of two sons Atticus and Atlus. I live in Franklin, Indiana with my wife Marcia. I am in school for nursing and my wife is a registered nurse. I have always wanted to get into forging, I just never had the money to do a start up. I have bought a small forge. I am shopping for a suitable propane cylinder. I have been looking at 100# tanks. I had 4 tanks for forklifts but learned they are not suitable for my application and have gotten rid of them. When I go to the store I do not know what to ask for since the tanks do not specify if they are liquid propane or vapor propane. I'm new to propane as well(except grilling with 20# tanks). I am also having issues with locating a proper anvil. Most of the ones I've come across are cast iron and pretty small. I also have had no luck finding a segment of railroad track. I try to hit the antique and flea markets around here and brown county. If any locals have any suggestions on where I can track down some items that would be awesome. I also am not sure if welding gloves and aprons are appropriate safety gear. Do I need anything thicker? Thanks for any help guys.

Hello, I am new to blacksmithing/ knifemaking. I have been looking at everyone's posts for a while, so I thought that I should show some of my stuff. I have been forging since late October 2014. I post a lot of my process pictures on Imgur. I am not just a bladesmith. I like making other things too! My First knife: The whole process: http://imgur.com/gallery/AJqIB My second knife & first folder: a freaky forged ring dagger: a forged butterfly knife. It was a "see if i can do it" project: A curved knife that a friend ordered: , process: http://imgur.com/gallery/pt028 the strangest folder I have ever made. I messed up on the hole & had to design the handle around the knife: And my latest and favorite knife, a forged tanto that can be taken completely apart. I used Dave J. Friesen's tutorials to make it, so thank you Mr. Friesen! : , the whole process: http://imgur.com/gallery/TQAYw I hope all of the links work for you. The lone pictures might not work but the process pictures probably will. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! Wes Alberson

well, my old forge from last year isn't really working out the way i wanted it to. it's hot, no place to hide from the sun plus a white hot fire makes it very uncomfortable, if not unbearable. these are some pictures of what it looks like now, and where i'd like to move it. I (hopefully) have my barrel stove kit coming down, with that i'll be able to start working on swords again. right now, with my little chimney stove thingy i can't work on anything bigger than about a foot, max, blade, tang and all. it sucks. so post some comments and suggestions and i'll start to post some of the work i'm doing on a couple of my projects. P.S. my shed and work area are a mess, i'm cleaning it up, but i was away for a couple months, what do you expect?

So I have a sword i'm starting and its my first. I wanted to go with a water dragon or elvish like themes or both mixed but here it is. Details blade : 19 6/8' tang :7 5/8' overall 27 3/8' steel 5160 pics 1 sword cut out 2, drawing out tang 3, straightening 4, bevels more when i get the chance as always feedback welcomed and greatly looked forward to.

So im very green and new to the bladesmithing community. Im currently teaching myself with the aides of " The Complete Bladesmith" by Jim Hrisoulas (very helpful), this EXCELLENT FORUM, youtube (of course) and by trial and error. I wanted to just share a few items that I've forged. I haven't completely finished any pieces yet as I have been practicing forging blades. Ive done some grinding and filing and am now starting to focus on that as well as the heat treating process. So I've been trying to learn in stages (not sure if thats the best way to do it or not so I welcome the correction if thats the case). These two are the same knife. After a few throwaway railroad spike attempts i got this and then grinded the heck out of it with tiny harbor freight belt sander. Another railroad spike knife I was messing around with a piece of rebar and forged this I got very ambitious and tried my hand at damascus just to see if i could do it. With the help of a couple of volunteer strikers (poor man's power hammer) I came out with a somewhat successful piece and learned a lot. So I forged a mjolnir pendant. This is a knife I'm working on at the moment and filing alot. I will make my first attempts at heat treating with this blade. These are my most recent endeavors. Once again I may be getting ahead of myself but I started working on a short sword as well. Im learning slowly and my challenges right now are grinding/filing with uniformity ( which will be my biggest challenge with that short sword and welcome any tips that would be given). I also need to learn some techniques on grinding/filing with uniformity. Also if there are any tips on heat treating and also what sort of thickness I need to forge to. There's no way to adjust the environment of the forge I have that I can figure (I purchased a ck forge. if that rings any bells and know of any modifications that would be most helpful) and Im sure it shows in my work with all of the pitting of scale in the blades. I've been searching the forum as best I can, when I can but if there can be any quick tips given I'd greatly appreciate it. Ive only been at it for a few months so I need all of the help I can muster. I'm sure this will not be the last time I ask questions. Thank you very much! Also this is my setup...

So I built myself a forge a few months ago and I've finally gotten around to making the burner. Ive done copious research on LP and burner designs and such, but I figured I'd post a picture of it here, just in case someone sees a giant red flag that I don't and gives me a DEAR GOD DONT DO IT. I plan to test the burner tomorrow, so we'll see how it goes. Pic is attached, the nozzle part goes in the larger, longer pipe (if it wasn't obvious). Thanks! Justin